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Bowyer, MWR to make announcement at Kansas

DOVER, Del. -- As expected, Clint Bowyer is poised to join Michael Waltrip Racing in a move that will become official in an announcement at Kansas Speedway on Friday afternoon.

It had been previously speculated that the announcement would come at the venue Bowyer, a native of Emporia, Kan., considers his home track. Sources confirmed Friday's planned announcement prior to Sunday's AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway.

Earlier last week Kevin Harvick, Bowyer's current teammate at Richard Childress Racing, talked as if Bowyer had one foot out the door and admitted Bowyer will be missed at RCR.

"It's definitely going to change the look of [RCR]," Harvick said during an appearance at Charlotte Motor Speedway. "I think Clint was a good asset for us because he was competitive on a weekly basis, so he brings something to the table. ... I've been around Clint since 2004 or 2005. So he's a good friend of mine and we've been through a lot together, so it's not something that I look at that's real positive.

"But sometimes in this sport, sponsorship and circumstances dictate things happening that you don't really have a lot of control over."

With sponsorship disappearing next year on the No. 33 Chevrolet Bowyer currently drives for RCR, team owner Richard Childress was unable to come to contract terms with the driver he plucked from relative obscurity during an ARCA race in 2003. Bowyer has spent all six of his seasons as a full-time Sprint Cup driver with RCR, winning a total of four races and making the Chase three times.

This season, however, Bowyer had yet to win a race heading into Sunday's event at Dover. He also failed to make the Chase for the second time in three seasons.

Both team owner Michael Waltrip and Bowyer confirmed two weeks ago at Chicagoland Speedway that they were involved in contract discussions for 2012 and beyond. Bowyer said then that he believed MWR would be "a good home" for him.

Bowyer is expected to drive a third car at MWR, with sponsorship for roughly half the season coming from 5-Hour Energy Drink and sponsorship for the other races yet to be determined. More details are expected to emerge during Friday's announcement.

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